Francis J Nelson

“Frank”

passed away 5-16-16 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was born in Brooklyn, NY in May 29, 1935 and grew up in Bayside, Queens.

Frank was proud of his accomplishments as an Eagle Scout which earned him a summer at Philmont Scout Ranch, NM, launching him on his career as a geologist. After two years in the US Army he received degrees from Syracuse Univ. (BS) and Univ. of AZ (MS). He worked for the Anaconda Company before spending 30 years with Freeport Exploration, both as an employee and later, a full-time exploration consultant. He is credited with the discovery of two world class mineral deposits, the Mount Keith nickel deposit in Western Australia and the Ertsberg East (GBT) copper deposit in Papua, Indonesia.

Although a longtime resident of Tucson, work and travel took him to more than 50 countries, often accompanied by his wife and geologist partner of almost 55 years, “Ellie”. In 2001 he became a founding partner in Nu Vu Assoc. LLC, and in 2002, AVEN Assoc, Tucson-based exploration companies.

Frank is preceded in death by his parents, Francis Charles Nelson and Carmela Laurino Nelson, and survived by his wife Eleanor Whitney (Brown) Nelson, cousins Dorothy Nelson Fowler (Robert), Susan Hucker Push, and Debra Hucker Waite. He was an accomplished mountaineer and a fine horseman. The family expresses gratitude to the management and staff at Starfish Care Homes for their compassionate care. An informal gathering to share memories will be held at Forty Niner Country Club, Sunday, June 12, 11:00 AM.

Summary of Frank’s Career

After receiving his B.S. Degree in geology at Syracuse University and M.S. Degree in geology at the University of Arizona, he worked as an exploration geologist for The Anaconda Copper Mining Company in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico from 1964 until 1967. In mid-1967 he joined Freeport Exploration Company with whom he was employed as an exploration geologist until September 1990. During those 23 years Frank worked on exploration programs for a variety of commodities in many countries, including: Mexico, Belize, Guyana, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, and the USA.

From 1969-1970, with his geologist wife, Eleanor, Frank explored a broad area of Western Australia and was credited by Freeport for the discovery of the giant Mount Keith nickel deposit. From 1973-1977 he was Party Chief of Exploration in Freeport’s Contract of Work area surrounding the Ertsberg Mine, Papua, Indonesia. A very large, high grade deposit, Ertsberg East (GBT) was discovered during that program. In 1982 Frank then created a new exploration group for Freeport in Chile and was General Manager-Executive Vice President of that company from 1981-1986. During that period the Fachinal gold-silver deposit in Aysen Region was discovered by Freeport geologists. In 1989, as Senior Staff Geologist, Frank was credited by Freeport for the discovery of Iroco, a gold deposit near Oruro, Bolivia. From 1990 until September 2000, Frank continued to work for Freeport as a full-time exploration consultant, mainly on reconnaissance programs in Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Honduras, Canada and Arizona.

Among other projects Frank directed an exploration program in Sonora, Mexico which resulted in the discovery of the El Pilar oxide copper deposit. In 2001 Frank became a founding partner in Nu Vu Associates LLC and in 2002, AVEN Associates, Tucson based exploration companies. AVEN has been successfully mining and treating gold and silver ores in Mexico.

Arrangements under the direction of East Lawn Palms Mortuary, Tucson, AZ.